In this episode of the ‘Retrospective’ podcast, Jeremy and Peter explore crucial strategies for engineering managers transitioning to new teams. Emphasizing the importance of early trust-building, quick wins, and effective communication, they reference ‘The First 90 Days’ by Michael D. Watkins. They discuss understanding team dynamics, emotional intelligence, and the role of the previous manager in easing transitions. Key topics include assessing team strengths, managing technical debt, aligning with business goals, and fostering a safe-to-fail culture. The episode concludes with practical advice for new managers navigating stakeholder relationships and ensuring team member growth.

In this episode of The Retrospective, Peter and Jeremy discuss ‘quiet quitting’ in the workplace, a situation in which employees lose motivation and only do the minimum required.

They discuss how to spot the signs and the reasons behind them, such as changes in company culture or personal struggles.

The conversation also covers how managers can help motivate their team and maintain a positive environment, using strategies like giving feedback and recognising good work.

They also mention the challenges of dealing with quiet quitting, especially when working remotely, and share tips on effectively supporting your team.

00:00 Introduction

00:25 Quiet Quitting

03:07 Situations that can trigger quiet quitting

05:55 It’s not always the company!

06:18 What Motivates People?

07:11 How circumstances can trigger quiet quitting

08:09 Recognising the signs in a remote and in office team members

09:08 Cultural differences

11:44 The consequences of quiet quitting

15:41 How to handle quiet quitting as a manager

20:19 Don’t forget to focus on the whole team

21:11 What are the levers managers have?

25:35 Don’t get sucked in!

27:22 Remove blockers

28:03 Provide Clarity

28:29 One to ones are critical

28:54 Praise and encourage

30:12 Get in touch if you are struggling

30:32 You can’t save everyone!

30:57 Summary

Join Peter and Jeremy as they kickoff the first episode of Season 2, reflecting on their learnings from Season 1 and outlining exciting changes and plans for the new season.

They discuss their experiences with podcasting, the challenges of editing, and the valuable feedback they received.

This episode covers their motivation to provide focused, impactful content for early-stage engineering managers and leaders, and introduces format changes like shorter, more focused episodes, audio-only format, and potential guest interviews around relevant topics.

00:00 Intros

00:29 Reflections on Season One

01:23 What We Learnt and the Feedback We Got

03:57 Plans for Season Two - focusing on Engineering Managers

04:38 Format Changes - 20 - 30 mins, Audio Only

05:50 One Episode Per Topic

07:13 Interviews and Special Episodes

08:31 Wrapping Up

Getting Hired: The Recruiter's Perspective with special guest Peter Batiz This episode covers the challenges and opportunities engineering managers face, the importance of adapting to market changes, and building strong relationships with recruiters. Learn strategic negotiation tactics, key questions to ask during the interview process, and how to leverage publicly available information for informed decision-making. Whether you're employed and contemplating a change or actively seeking new opportunities, gain invaluable insights and practical tips to excel in today's tech job scene. Plus, get a sneak peek into the exciting changes coming in season two. 00:00 The Retrospective S1 E10: Getting Hired - The Recruiter's Perspective with Peter Batiz 00:13 Introduction 02:44 Hiring Scene Shifts after 2022 04:00 Technical Skills in Managerial Positions 08:17 Other Differentiators like Remote and Domain Experience 11:24 Quality vs. Quantity of Applications 13:53 Flexibility: The Number One Differenciator to Get The Job 15:38 Remote Work in the Current Climate 17:37 2024 August Hiring Market Improvements 21:56 Economic Reasons of the Current Hiring Climate 23:23 Current Climate is a Return to Normal 27:22 Expectations from Managers in the Current Climate 31:00 Company Culture Shifts 35:23 AI and Kubernetes experience is a Differenciator 39:58 Career Security vs. Job Security 41:32 Successful CV Characteristics 44:13 The role of AI in Hiring 48:57 Show your Impact to Stand Out 52:06 Automatic Job Application Bot 55:14 Job Sites beyond LinkedIn 56:33 Inteviewing Advices 01:01:06 Recruiter Relationships 01:07:40 Advice for EMs Considering Quitting 01:11:19 How to Validate an Offer 01:14:51 Negotiating 01:21:47 Outro

Péter and Jeremy discuss the last stage of the interviewing process: the offer. They include strategies for managing job transitions, including securing roles, negotiating offers, and resigning professionally. The conversation shifts to the transformation of content creation with the rise of social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, examining the initial advantages and later toxicities induced by engagement-driven algorithms. The discussion concludes with Péter's new website, whatistiling.com.

In the second part of the 8th episode of the podcast, Jeremy and Péter discuss engineering manager interview strategies, focusing on Péter’s co-authored article about interviewing for an EM position. They emphasize the importance of the hiring manager interview for showcasing decision-making trustworthiness and delve into technical tests, case studies, and the role of psychometric tests and AI-assisted coding in interviews. To round off, they discuss effectively handling job offers and meeting the prospective team to ensure a cultural fit.

In this episode of 'The Retrospective' podcast, engineering leaders Jeremy and Peter discuss Peter’s series on getting hired as an engineering manager, focusing on the interview process. The conversation covers preparation strategies, building relationships with recruiters, adapting to the current job market, and the importance of diversity in hiring. Throughout, Jeremy and Peter provide practical advice on handling technical screenings, in-office interviews, and telling compelling career stories. They emphasize the need for thorough preparation, understanding the company, and presenting oneself effectively in interviews.

In this episode of the 'Retrospective' weekly podcast, Jeremy and Peter discuss key engineering leadership topics. Jeremy delves into his latest article on the four essential weekly ceremonies for engineering managers to ensure smooth and predictable execution. The ceremonies include the weekly kickoff, daily sync, one-on-one meetings, and the weekly review.

Peter shares his recent experiment with AI-assisted coding, using ChatGPT for a Google Apps Script project, highlighting the benefits and challenges of leveraging AI in software development.

Show notes:

• Jeremy’s article on the Four Must-Have Weekly Meetings for Engineering Managers: https://www.jeremybrown.tech/the-four-must-have-weekly-meetings-for-engineering-managers/
• Jeremy’s earlier article about sharing at 20%: https://www.jeremybrown.tech/the-20-percent-rule/
• Explainer on Task Relevant Maturity: https://getlighthouse.com/blog/management-concept/
• John Cutler on Troubleshooting Status Updates: [https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-252-how-to-troubleshoot-status](https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-252-how-to-troubleshoot-status?ref=jeremybrown.tech)
• Peter’s updates including AI-assisted coding experiences: https://peterszasz.com/week-24-2024-ai-coding-search-and-creativity/
• BI dashboard and tools article Jeremy mentioned: https://briefer.cloud/blog/posts/self-serve-bi-myth/ - AI Summary “Sales pitches often oversell the idea of "self-serve dashboards," but in reality, it often falls short as non-technical users lack the context to interpret data accurately. The key to successful self-serve BI lies in technical support for business stakeholders using flexible tools that cater to their needs efficiently. Providing technical people with tools like LLMs, Python, and easy data sharing capabilities can bridge the gap between technical complexity and business user needs.”

00:00 Intros

00:37 4 Weekly Meetings for Engineering Managers

01:59 Why Work to a Weekly Cadence?

03:30 Projects and Milestones

09:03 The Weekly Team Kick-off / Planning Meeting

20:06 Daily Sync (Standup) and Team Connection

33:21 One-on-One Meetings

37:16 Monthly Career Focus and Continuous Feedback and Coaching

38:11 One-to-One Frequency

40:15 Task Relevance Maturity Framework

41:35 The Weekly Review Meeting

46:04 Stakeholder Communication and Status Updates

58:02 Retrospectives and Team Health

01:03:23 Using AI for Coding Projects

01:12:14 Wrapping up!